Roots...

Every male on my dad's side of the family was bald before they turned 30. My hair is my only source of vanity and when i was younger, i was shit scared about the same bald fate (pate?) passing down the family tree. Having genes that did not do too well with respiratory viruses, overworked joints and a sense of humour, it could almost have been a certainty that another strand got mixed up with the wrong bunch and sent me down the same .... until i came to know that male pattern baldness is passed down from the mother's side.

My grandfather has a thick set of hair on his head, and he is well into his eighties. Sigh of relief....

... until a few days ago, when someone pointed out that there was possibly a bald patch developing in the center of my head. That couldn't be! All my mother's male relatives have a thick set of hair on their heads! Maybe a bad hairdo? Could be just a bad hair day, right?

WRONG. My mother has 5 sisters. Her mother had sisters as well. No matriarchal male relatives within three generations. Considering my knowledge about my relatives extends only to people who are within the boundaries of this city, there's technically no chance of me finding the closest male relative on my matriarchal side to determine whether the baldness strand has fallen from those genes.

Maybe i could simply look for this lost gene along with the lost family members on a trek through the wilderness of North Karnataka and Goa. It could be a nice documentary or a book. i'll call it Roots.

Learnings from a Jury...

Censored for lack of appropriateness and presence of objective opinions.

Thesis Panel...

for those who haven't seen and wanted to see it

...

Amongst the entire institutional and administrative framework, the worst reaction to the incidents of the last few days was from, as expected, our politicians:
1 - Sonia Gandhi reads a speech off a teleprompter in her halting Hindi, doubly alienating her from anyone who should be listening. And she makes a speech before our Head of State, illustrating once and for all who holds the reins in this country.
2 - Manmohan Singh gives the most insipid speech i've heard given by any head of state. His speech defending his government during the vote of no confidence had more life in it. And this guy was supposed to be a politician with a difference.
3 - Shivraj Patil is as confused as ever, never knowing what is going on as he fidgets in his prim and proper safari suit. On Thursday, when reporters throng him for news on the arrested terrorist's interrogation, he begins a soliloquy on V.P. Singh. What will it take to fire him?
4 - L.K. Advani along with his smiling fascists turns up at Oberoi and makes veiled references to intelligence failure. The NSG fires at terrorists in the background and this guy stands within his Z+ security cordon mouthing off for a few votes.
5 - Narendra Modi says 'I told you so'. Apparently, the handling of this incident was worse than Godhra in 2002. Or maybe he's just forgotten it.
6 - R.R. Patil first says there are 2 terrorists loose in the city. Then retracts his statement. Then makes it again. This is the Home Minister of Maharashtra.
7 - Vilasrao Deshmukh looks to either his Chief Secretary or DGP for EVERY question at a press conference. How does one have the guts to come to such a sensitive press conference without being prepared?
8 - The saviour of the Marathi Manoos Raj Thackeray decides to overlook all north indian and south indian contributions in saving the city. Declares a bandh on Monday, when another form of terrorism has ensured we've had three days of bandh already.
9 - Milind Deora, for suggesting politicians visiting terror stricken areas do not impose any additional load on the police "since they come with their own security". Security drawn from the NSG corps. No wonder we do not have a battalion in every state as was the intention of founding this group.

There is a problem with the parliamentary system of democracy if i, as a citizen, cannot put any of these guys to task. i elect an MLA who may or may not help appoint a Chief Minister. If i feel the CM is not doing his job well, i fire the MLA who might have actually been good. Ditto for the MP and the Prime Minister. It gets worse for the corporator, who's only job is to make so much noise that the Municipal Commissioner is irritated enough to take action.

How can things change?

Cosmopolis...

At 11.47 PM near my house, passed a Ganpati immersion procession sponsored by a Tulu speaking restaurateur, followed by a truck with some Bihari boys dancing to "Singh is King". Refreshments on the roadside provided in the memory of a Gujarati resident of the area, with the food supplied by a Muslim shop owner. The Sindhi residents of the opposite building line the roadside with flowers and rice to throw at the idol.

i am not making this up.